Low acidity and a smooth, syrupy body. An accompaniment of dark chocolate, vanilla bean, and just a hint of black pepper. Great for roasting dark.

Arrival Date: ﻿September 16th, 2016

Acidity & Brightness: Sweet, with low acidity.

Balance & Finish: Slightly Complex Smooth Finish

Body & Texture:Rich, syrupy body. Sweet, with low acidity.

Flavors: Dark chocolate, vanilla, black pepper

Grade: Very Dense

Certifications: Shade grown, hand picked sun dried

Processing: Semi-wet

Varietals: S-795, Typica, Catimor and Timor hybrids

Roasting: Start with a Full City + ( Medium Dark), or just barely into the second crack. This brings out the dark chocolate tones. If you can't hear the cracks, then roast until the beans are smooth and medium dark brown with just the first hint of sheen as the oil emerges. Expect this coffee to roast unevely, but don't cull the odd beans--they add to the rustic complexity.

Our Review

We hate to admit it, but when we first heard about this coffee, our first question was "Where in the world is Flores?" We flipped a few pages in our atlas and found that Flores is in Indonesia. It is one of the larger islands in the Lesser Sundra archipelago. It was given the name "Coba da Flores" by the Portuguese when they discovered it in the 15th century because of the colorful coral heads around the island. Well, the Portuguese are gone, but the name stayed.

Interesting place. It has a tri-colored lake (bright blue, red and green), minature elephant fossils, three foot tall Homo Erectus skeletons that date back 15,000 years, Komodo dragons, salt water crocodiles, and, more interestingly (to us at least), some very good organic coffee.

Most of the coffee is grown in the Ngada district, on the slopes of Inerie Volcano at elevations of 1,200-1,600 meters above sea level. Varietals include Typica, Catimor, Timor Hybrids, and a unique Flores varietal. All of these get combined at the farmer organized co-ops around the central city of Bajawa to produce a really unique, but wholly Indonesian, coffee that we find most enjoyable.

Typical of the best Indonesian coffees, Flores coffee offers a low acidity, rich body cup that is very, very smooth. It is semi-wet processed--a method that not only increases the complexity of the cup, but when properly done can add considerable sweetness to your brew. One of the "code words" coffee people use to describe this complexity is "rustic". OK. We can buy that. Think in terms of molasses or dark brown sugar, or for our Southern friends, sorghum. We find the dominant flavor tones to be dark chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. It has a nice nutty finish that reminds us of walnuts.

When we ground our sample to begin our cupping trials, the very first thing we noticed was the fragrance. Noticed isn't exactly the right word. The wonderful, surprisingly intense fragrance of the ground coffee immediately filled the whole room. You couldn't help but "notice". This delightful fragrance lingered for some time. It has been a while since we have encountered a coffee that had that abundance of aroma. Sweet and rich--a trait that carried over to the cup.

On the whole, this is a mellow, rich, sweet coffee. We find it compares well to the Timor or Papua New Guinea coffees more so than the earthier Sumatran or Sulawesi coffees. However, it has more body than the Timor and less acidity, too. So Flores Bajawa Ngura coffee stands as a unique fit, somewhere between Timor and Sumatra, just like the island itself. It possesses a rare combination of a medium-heavy body but low acidity. The mouthfeel is syrupy, but the finish is short.

One last thing--how do you pronounce it? BAH-HA-WA N-GUR-a. Or just say FLOOR-ess. We'll figure it out.

Returns Policy

If you are unsatisfied with your green coffee purchase, we will issue you a refund in the form of an in-store credit. Since coffee is a food item, we can't take it back once it leaves our control. We will work closely with you to insure you get the quality you expected at a price that is fair. This offer is good for 30 days from the date of shipment.
We will faithfully adhere to this policy for every customer, unless that customer is repeatedly abusing it. We withold the right to deny refunds, in rare cases, where a customer is repeatedly ordering coffee and then asking for a refund.

Home Coffee Roasters

The Gene Cafe and Behmor 1600 Plus are covered by a 1 year warranty from the manufacturer. The Fresh Roast SR-300 and SR-500 come with a 1 year warranty on the base unit and a 6 month warranty on the chaff collector, top cap and basket. Since the roasters are UL certified, the manufacturers ask that we refer all warranty issues directly to them. Although we do not directly provide repair service, we'll help you through the process to get your roaster back up and running. Should you return an unused roaster to us, we will refund your purchase minus the original shipping cost. Once you've used your roaster, we really can't take it back.

Other Items

Any item not covered by a manufacturer's warranty is warranted by The Captain's Coffee to meet or exceed your expectations. If you are dissatisfied with your purchase for any reason, you may return the item to The Captain's Coffee for a replacement or refund in the form of an in-store credit. This offer is good for 30 days from the date of shipment. If applicable, the manufacturer's warranty will supersede this warranty for items sold by The Captain's Coffee.

Shipping

We currently ship to any location in the US with the notable exception that Note that Hawaii Department of Agriculture regulations won't allow us to ship raw coffee to Hawaii.

If you select the "Captain's Special" shipping method, please note that the choice of carrier and delivery method is then entirely at our discretion. For local pick-ups, please allow 24 hours for us to prepare your order before dropping by to pick it up. Shipping weight is calculated in US Pounds.